Pump-piston.



PATENTED MAY 2l. 1907.

G. M. RAY.

PUMP PISTON.

APPLIouroN FILED 1113.15. laos.

y TL v A TTORNEYS farm rnsns co., wAsmzqaroN.' n c.

FATE NI FFIQE.

CHARLES M. RAY, OF LAKE CITY, FLORIDA.

PUMP-PISTON.

Specification of Letters Patent.

lr/atented May 21, 1907'.

Application lled February l5, 1906. Serial No. 301,306.

T0 @ZZ whom, t muy concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES M. RAY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lake City, in the county of Columbia and State of Florida, have invented a new and useful Pump Piston, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to pistons or plungers for deep well pumps, and one of the objects of the invention is to provide improved means for unseating the valve previous to withdrawing the plunger from the well; another object of the invention is to prevent the packing cups or levers from turning backward when the plunger is being withdrawn; another object is if, in spite of precautions to the contrary, the packing cups or leathers should turn, to prevent them from overlapping or from turning back upon one another and thus producing bulky places which would interfere with the withdrawal of the piston; other objects of the invention are to simplify and improve the construction and operation of this class of devices.

With these and other ends in view, which will readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the improved construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts, which will be hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims,

In the accompanying drawings has been illustrated a simple and preferred form of the invention it being, however, understood that no limitation is necessarily made to the precise structural details therein exhibited, but that changes, alterations and modifications within the scope of the invention may be made when desired.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a piston or plunger embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on the plane indicated by the line 2-2 in Fig. 1, and showing also the pump casing and the foot valve. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but without the foot valve, and shoving the piston valve unseated by the means provided for the purpose. Fig. 4 is a perspective detail view of the valve unh seating member. Fig. 5 is a sectional detail view illustrating a modiiication.

Corresponding parts in the several figures are indicated throughout by similar characters of reference.

The piston or plunger of the present invention has a tubular body B the lower end of which has a tubular extension 1, which may be integral therewith, or it may be threaded thereinto, as shown. Exteriorly upon the upper end of the tubular body is threaded a member constituting a valve cage 2, the same containing a valve 3 which seats upon the upper edge of the tubular body, said valve being provided with a depending guide stem 5 5 the upper end of the valve cage has an interiorly threaded socket 6 for the reception of the sucker stem or rod 7.

The valve unseating member consists of a Ushaped spring S mounted for longitudinal slidable movement within the piston Abody and the tubular extension of the latter, and having arms 9 and 10 of unequal length, said arms bearing frictionally against the inner walls of the piston. The tubular extension member 1 is preferably provided with interior grooves 11 in which the arms of the unseating member are guided; the short arm 9 of the unseating member is bent outwardly at its upper end to form a hook 12 which is guided in a slot 12 in the tubular member l, said slot being keyhole-shaped, or provided at its upper end with an enlarged or widened portion 14 for engagement with a iiange or enlargement 15 upon the hook member 12; when the valve unseating member moves upward in the act of unseating the valve, the enlarged portion 15 will spring into and engage the widened portion 14 of the slot 13, and will thus retain the unseating member in position until disengaged. The long arm l() of the unseating member is of a suitable length to engage the under side of the valve, thus `lifting' the latter from its seat and supporting it in an unseated position when the unseating member is supported at the upper limit of its movement.

The arms 9 and 10 of the unseating member are provided with shoulders 16 adapted to abut upon the lower edge of the tubular extension member 1 when the unseating member is at the upward limit of its movement; these shoulders serve to prevent un due strain upon and damage to the spring which constitutes the unseating member, when the latter is forcibly moved in an upward direc* tion in the act of unseating the valve. The tubular member l has been illustrated as provided with auxiliary slots 17 which may be regarded as liquid passages.

The tubular body B of the piston is provided at its lower end with an annular flange 18 which is of a diameter almost equal to the IOO IIO

interior diameter of the well casing 19 in which the piston reciprocates. The Yflange 1S supports a packing member 20 consisting simply of a ring or washer above which is placed a holding member 21 having at its upper end an annular Al'lange 22 of less diameter than the flange 18, but adapted to support a packing cup 23 constructed in the usual manner of leather or similar material. The washer 2O may, however, be dispensed with, and the holding member may be formed integral with the tubular body, as shown at 21 in Fig. 5 of the drawings. l/Vhen the piston body is oi' a length to permit it, additional holding members, as 21, and packing cups, as 23, may be used, but when, as in the drawings hereto annexed, the piston body is not of' a length to require additional packing cups and holding members, the packing cup 23 is clamped between-the i'lange 22 'of the holding member 21 and the lower edge of the valve cage 2, the latter serving to assemble the parts and to secure them in proper relation to each other.

As shown in the drawings, the upper edge of the packing cup 23 is exteriorly beveled, at 24; this is for the purpose of preventing the weight of the superposed liquid from exerting a tendency to turn the cup or packing member when the piston is being moved upwardly in the well casing. The enlarged portion or flange 22 of the holding member 21 likewise assists in preventing the packing cup from turning back, but if, in spite orl these precautions, the packing cup should turn back, owing to rough or imperfect places in the well casing, or to the use of soft and inferior leather or other material in the manufacture of the packing cup, the latter will turn back upon the member 21 below the cup and will flatten upon the latter in such a manner as not to obstruct the upward movement of the piston. The flange 18, being of larger diameter than the flange 22 upon the holding member 21, will guide the piston in its upward movement, and the packing cup if turned back upon the member 21 will be freely accommodated and will not obstruct the upward movement of the piston to the extent of involving danger of breakage of the rods or other parts.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings hereto annexed, the operation and advantages of this invention will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which it appertains. The improved valve unseating device is simple and efficient; it serves to positively retain the valve in unseated position until the plunger is Withdrawn, after which it may be readily restored to normal position so as to reseat the valve. The unseating of the valve, prior to the Withdrawal of the piston from the well casing, is accomplished by forcibly moving the piston in a downward direction until the unseating member 8 strikes the cage of the foot valve, which latter has been shown at F in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the contact serving to move the member 3 in an upward direction until the valve is unseated and retained in unseated position by the enlarged portion 15 upon the arm 9 engaging the widened portion 14 of the slot 13.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is 1. A valved piston having a tubular body, and a valve unseating member consisting of a U-shaped spring slidable therein, the arms of said spring being provided with out away portions forming piston engaging shoulders.

2. A valved tubular piston having a keyhole slot, and a resilient valve unseating member slidable in the piston and having a hook member engaging the keyhole slot, and an enlarged portion adapted to engage the wide portion of the latter.

3. A valved tubular piston having a keyl hole slot, a U-shaped resilient valve unseating member slidable therein and having an arm provided with a slot engaging hook, and an enlarged portion uponl said hook adapted fpr engagement with the wide portion of the s ot.

4. A tubular valved piston having a keyhole slot, a U-shaped resilient valve unseating member slidable in the piston and having shoulders adapted to abut upon the lower edge of the piston, said unseating member having a long valve engaging arm and a roo short arm provided with a slot engaging hook having an enlarged portion adapted to engage the wide portion of the slot.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as mv own, I have hereto affixed my signature 1o 5 in the presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES M. RAY. /Vitnesses 1 A. B. BROWN, W. J. EDWARDS. 

